Zeroing in on Bush-Cheney, Robert Parry – The definitive summary. WOW

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This is THE SUMMARY for political junkies, Fitz FANatics. It’s not over by a long shot. Enjoy.

Zeroing in on Bush-Cheney

Robert Parry Consortium News March 7, 2007 12:17 pm


Criminal trials – especially relating to national security scandals – are an imperfect way of learning the larger truth. As with the four-count conviction of former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the charges are often structured narrowly to avoid long battles over classified secrets or inherent presidential powers.

But even limited trials can offer important glimpses into the inner workings of an administration, especially one as secretive as George W. Bush’s. Though Libby was convicted only on perjury and obstruction charges, there should be little doubt what the full picture looks like.
If the panorama could be viewed all at once, the American people would see an administration that, in summer 2003, felt it could pretty much do whatever it wanted to anyone. Bush's inner circle validated every cliche about the arrogance of power, particularly the old saying about absolute power corrupting absolutely.

In the modern media context, defending that omnipotence meant coming up with demeaning comments about critics who dared to speak out. The goal was to generate talking points that could be given to the administration’s many friends in Congress or at right-wing and mainstream news outlets.

Snip

As Denis Collins, one of the Libby jurors, explained after the verdict, “we’re not saying that we didn’t think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of. But it seemed like he was … the fall guy.”